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Ridley Scott on Gladiator 2
Russell Crowe has repeatedly stated that neither Ridley Scott nor anyone involved with "Gladiator 2" contacted him to advise on the upcoming sequel, as the sequel's storyline has little to do with the character he played in the 2000 original. Crowe won an Oscar for "Gladiator," but his character, Maximus, died at the end of the film. Scott recently told Empire magazine (via ScreenRant) that he hopes his relationship with Crowe is still good after he didn't reach out about "Gladiator 2."
"The plot was, quite frankly, right under our noses," Scott said of the sequel. "I think it was so right under our noses that we thought it was too simple. I think [Russell Crowe] is still one of the best actors in the world, and I think we have a good relationship. I hope so. As long as he doesn't whine about not being consulted. Why should I? He's dead!"
There was a time when Scott considered bringing Crowe's Maximus back from the dead for "Gladiator 2," but the story ideas were often deemed too "ridiculous" to put into production. One script that was written was Nick Cave's infamous "Gladiator 2: Christ Killer," which saw Maximus escape from purgatory on a mission to kill Christ. Scott said he and Cave did a "reasonable pitch to DreamWorks" about the script, but "it never went any further." He would eventually find the right story for a "Gladiator" sequel with his "All the Money in the World" screenwriter David Scarpa.
